Even the greatest streak must, eventually, end. And Ron Hill has announced that, after 52 years and 39 days, he’s finally going to have a day off.

For those not steeped in the history of distance running, Hill, 78, is probably less a running legend than a brand name for some well-priced kit (though he sold the brand named after him in the early 90s, and now runs Hilly clothing). Yet he is undeniably one of the British all-time greats. In his heyday, he set world records at multiple distances (10 miles, 15 miles, 25km) and was the second man to break 2hrs 10min in the marathon (the first being Australian Derek Clayton). He ran in three Olympic games – Tokyo in 1964, Mexico City in 1968 and Munich in 1972. He won the European Championship marathon in 1969. In 1970, he won the Boston marathon – the first British runner to do so – and in July of the same year, won the Commonwealth Games title in Edinburgh.

Most athletes would see that as an illustrious career and retire for a slightly easier life – not just from competitive sport, but perhaps even from running itself. Not Hill. Not for another 19,032 days.

In a statement to Streak Runners International, Hill explained: “It is with great sadness that I have to report the end of my streak. I have been having heart problems, and have been waiting for some time now to have the problem diagnosed and hopefully rectified. One-mile runs have not helped, and on Saturday 28 January I ran my last one mile. After less than 400m, my heart started to hurt and over the last 800m the problem got worse and worse. I thought I might I die, but just made it to one mile in 16min and 34secs. There was no other option but to stop. I owed that to my wife family and friends plus myself.”

Streak Runners International keeps a tally of all ongoing streaks, from the “neophyte” (who haven’t even made five years yet) through to the Hills – 50 years plus, in honour of Ron himself. Their official definition is a run of at least one mile every calendar day, and tracking streaks is largely a matter of trust – or indeed, honour.

After that many years, the question of whether or not it’s entirely healthy, or if the body might need the odd day off, surely becomes moot. When he reached 50 years, Hill told Runner’s World that the most serious threat to his streak up to that point had been when he broke his sternum in a car accident in 1993. Luckily, he had already run that day.

Here’s wishing Ron Hill a speedy recovery, even if when he starts again, he’ll be a mere neophyte.

Source: Read Full Article